Tuscan Cabbage

Forget steaming up your kitchen with a boiled cabbage side dish or slogging through wilty, bland coleslaw. This is so easy, you'll be wondering why you never made it before.   This has now become my favorite way to serve cabbage.  Usually, I use Napa or Savoy cabbage, but I used Early Flat Dutch cabbage (like the regular ones  in the grocery store) from our garden in the picture (below)  for this post.

Serves 4

Butter a 1-2 quart baking dish.  (Don't worry if the mixture is mounded up really high--it will cook down.)

Preheat oven to 425 F.

• ½ head of cabbage  chopped into long julienne pieces (don’t mince it up, you want long shreds) (about 3-4 C)
• ¼ C blue cheese salad dressing, the chunkier the better
• ¼ C grated parmesan cheese
• ¼ C shredded Italian cheese (asiago, romano, even provolone)
• ¼  C half & half
• red pepper flakes (to taste)
• salt (Don’t oversalt.  The cheeses and pancetta are already quite salty.)
• 4 slices of pancetta



All ready for the oven!  For a picture of the finished dish, see the post on Fresh and Simple Cod and Tomato.



Mix cabbage, cheeses, and half & half in a large mixing bowl.  Season with red pepper flakes and salt to taste.  Pour into buttered dish and top with pancetta rounds.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly and cooked down.

Great with Fresh and Simple Cod and Tomato, sausages, creamy tomato soup, or pork chops.

Fresh and Simple Cod and Tomato



Yummy. Served here with Tuscan cabbage.



Get good fish, the fresher the better. I like cod, but any firm fish would do (Chilean sea bass, tuna, halibut,  or large salmon).  Think chunks. 

(serves 4)

• 1 ½ lbs fresh cod
• Extra virgin olive oil (you’ll about ¼ C)
• ½ jalapeno seeded and minced fine
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1  C cherry tomatoes, halved
• Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:

• 1 T fresh basil, chiffonaded (sliced thin)
• 3-4 green onions rough chopped







Fresh cod ready for the oven.



Preheat oven to 425 F.

Pour a coating of olive oil (a couple tablespoons) in a medium baking pan large enough to take the cod without overlapping.  Sprinkle with jalapenos, garlic and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper.  Drizzle with remaining olive oil.

Bake 15 minutes or until done to your specifications.  I like it no more than 15 minutes.  If your filets were especially thick, then you might need more time.

Remove from oven.  Sprinkle with basil and green onions.  Drizzle the drippings over and serve.

Great with bruscetta (or simple riced potatoes) and Tuscan cabbage.

Peach and Mint Sunday Chicken

When I was in college, my roommate Pam was the orchestrator of most of our meals.   There were four of us girls in a two bedroom apartment, and we organized ourselves into cooking/shopping and cleaning teams.   We had $30 per week to spend on groceries (don’t  try to figure this out, but suffice it to say we were very frugal and this was a long time ago). We fed ourselves everyday (and our boyfriends at least once or twice a week) on this budget.   To this day, I have Pam’s mom’s recipe for chicken to be served on a Sunday—and we had it during the weekdays even, it was so good (Pam’s Mom’s Sunday Chicken).  It was a tasty sauté/bake deal with cream of mushroom soup, raisins and some other yummy ingredients that were easy for a bunch of 19 year olds to assemble.  Today, though, I think I have my own Sunday chicken recipe. (Maybe No. 1 son will bring it with him to college so it can be “No. 1 Son’s Mom’s Sunday Chicken”).

Chicken Licken Licks Your Chicken!  Use your homemade peach preserves to boost the flavor of this dish. 

Chicken

·         1 cut up fryer (buy a whole one and cut it up yourself.  This way you save money and can put the back and other parts aside for a scrumptious stock.  Directions coming in a future post!)

Brine:

·         3 C peach nectar or juice remaining from canned home peach preserves (that’s what I used)

·         ¼  C canola oil

·         ¼  C apple cider vinegar

·         ½ C dry white wine

·         2 t lemon pepper

·         2 t diced fresh mint

Fry coating

·         1 C flour

·         1 C chick pea/garbanzo bean flour

·         ½ C cornstarch

·         1 T smoked paprika

·         2 T salt (kosher)

·         1 t ground cumin

·         1 t crushed red pepper flakes

Other ingredients

·         1 C peanut or canola oil (for frying)

·         4 T mint chiffonaded into thin strips (use more or less to taste)

·         4 T butter

·         1/3 C peach preserves/jam

·         ¼ C peach brandy (if you don't have it, don't worry, just skip it)

Mix up brine ingredients and pour over cut up chicken in a glass or plastic container.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Turn the chicken midway through to evenly coat.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Combine the fry coating ingredients and put into a paper bag or a plastic gallon bag. 

Get half your oil (1/2   C at a time) shimmering hot in a medium saute pan.   You will add oil into the process as it appears needed. 

Remove each piece of chicken from brine (keep the brine!),  shake it to get excess moisture off, dump into the fry coating bag and shake vigorously (you can do 3-4 pieces at a time).  Place gently into the hot oil and fry until golden brown.  This will have to be done in batches. Hint:  cook the thighs and drumsticks together and do them for about 5 minutes per side or more. They take longer to cook than breasts and wings, which should get about 3 minutes per side.  You’re not cooking through, just browning.

Once all the pieces are browned, put into ovenproof dish(es) and into your preheated 350 F. oven.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the thighs are no longer pink.  Set aside to rest on stove top or warmer oven and cover with foil while you make the sauce.

Meanwhile, take about 2 C of the brine (about half) and put into a saucepan and reduce to about 1 C.  You might need to skim off the scum (because the chicken has released some blood into the marinade earlier).  Once reduced, add jam and brandy when the brine is hot and boiling.  Keep it moving for a minute or two to evaporate the alcohol.  Take off heat and incorporate the butter to thicken.  Pour over chicken.  Sprinkle with fresh mint and serve.

Goes good with roasted vegetables and classic blue cheese iceberg lettuce wedge.  It would also be awesome with cornbread.

Enjoy!